Headlining the acoustic stage at the Great British R&B Festival in Colne.
BREAKFAST at the B&B is 8.30am..the latest they do! Not the best place for musicians playing a festival.
The proprietors are a lovely old couple but jeez, the breakfast is shit.
First up, the plate for fruit/cereal is manky, So bad that I pass on fruit or cereal. I ask for sausage and hash browns..the lady says she’s cooked bacon so I agree to some of that too. Then it comes. One sausage, one rasher of bacon and one hash brown. The bacon and hash brown is OK, but the sausage – which I’ve split and put between a couple of bits of toast is so bad it makes me gag. Never tasted anything like it. The remainder is wrapped in a napkin to be disposed of later. They’re such a nice old couple I don’t want to cause any fuss.
Onward to Colne in Lancashire for the Great British R&B Festival – a two-and-a-half/three-hour drive via a McDonalds for a replacement breakfast!
We roll up at our pals Rodge and Jan’s about 2pm, drop our bags and then we all head to the Little Theatre where I headline the festival’s acoustic stage at 5pm.
The place is busy and we catch up with loads of folks and chat over a few beers until it’s time to set up my gear and hit the stage. The Little Theatre is a fantastic venue and the sound is great too. The place is jammed and folks are craning their necks round the doors to catch some of my show.
As soon as I’m done I join Margaret at the merch table outside and chat with loads of folks and sign their CDs and vinyl.
We take everything back to Rodge and Jan’s then get a taxi back into town where we spend the rest of the evening doting form venue to venue watching lots of music and perhaps having a bit too much to drink too. Grand day out:-)
Some the youngest music fans at my show 🙂
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We get the tent up in the artists’ camping area
UP early and we get all the camping gear packed into the car…glad I got all the music stuff in last night 🙂
We hit the road for the 400+ mile trip to the Red Rooster Festival near Thetford. A couple of stops for coffee, grub and shopping and we get on site just after 7pm.
Thankfully the rain stays off while we get the tent up in the artists camping area. We have a quick bite to eat and a beer then make our way to the Little Red Rooster stage where I play tomorrow (Saturday – 8.40pm) and on to the main stage to watch Cale Tyson and bump into our pal Joe Cushley who’s DJ-ing tomorrow.
We nip bag to the artist campsite for ‘the toilet’ and to recharge our glasses then back to the Little Red Rooster stage where we watch Robert Chaney. Brilliant.
Back at the tent we have a snack and a wee dram before snuggling up in our sleeping bags…
Cale Tyson is amazing…
…and great to bump into our pal Joe Cushley
Robert Chaney rounds our night off at the Little Red Rooster stage
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Awesome night at the Hug & Pint thanks to Jamie (Little Fire), left, and soundman Doug 🙂
GIG day today – so first task is printing out set lists and getting some last-miniute online and social media promo out.
We’re also gonna try recording tonight’s show and I spend a while gathering an assortment of mics, cables, splitter boxes and other stuff along with the eight-track recorder.
I’m just about to pack the car when Joe shows up to measure our front door to see if their old canopy could be put to good use. I finish packing then there’s time for a coffee and a blether. Joe heads back along the road and we head for Glasgow.
The Hug & Pint is – along with Broadcast, King Tut;s and the Glad Cafe – one of our favourite Glasgow venues and I;m really looking forward to tonight’s gig.
Soundman Doug is ready and waiting when we load in – he’s done my sound a few times in the past and always been great. We’re set up in no time and Doug goes way beyond the call of duty in helping us set up to record the show with minimum fuss…he plugs in his laptop, has loads of good ideas and soon we;re soundchecked and back upstairs enjoying some amazing grub. The food at the Hug & Pint is amazing too!
My pal Jamie – aka Little Fire – who’s opening the show arrives just as we finish eating and is all set up and soundchecked by the time doors open at 8pm.
There’s a good crowd in for Jamie kicking things off and he plays a wonderful set. So glad we managed to sort a show together after years of talking about it!
I do a quick Facebook Live from backstage and sink a wee dram before I start my set. The place is pretty packed – a nice mixture of old and new faces 🙂
After load out there’s time for a drink then we make for home, stopping off for a haggis supper en route. That’s fucked the low carb efforts of the last few days!
Dave Arcari is a full-time touring alternative blues (alt.blues) guitar player
and songwriter based on the eastern shores of Loch Lomond, Scotland
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